Posts Tagged ‘Phil Knight’

August 28, 2012 · 6:26 PM ET

HANG TIME WEST – The Hall of Fame on Tuesday announced a star-studded group of presenters for the induction ceremony next Friday night in Springfield, Mass., a list headed by Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson that is powerful enough to overshadow most of the actual inductees.

Their role is strictly ceremonial, nothing more than standing on stage as the enshrinees speak. And some choices are assigned for a person or team without a personal connection to a current Hall of Famer, as the rules require. But some in the past have been interesting selections – Jordan requesting David Thompson despite not having any relationship, Karl Malone choosing Willis Reed against the same backdrop, both in nods to home-state heroes – and the presenters this time are noteworthy for the number of all-time greats.

April 2, 2012 · 1:58 PM ET

Former Pacers scoring star Reggie Miller and Don Nelson, the winningest coach in league history, headline the Hall of Fame Class of 2012 announced Monday in New Orleans in the basketball museum’s latest attempt to address previous oversights.

While Miller’s selection was not a surprise, he did go from not being a finalist in 2011 all the way to election this time. Nelson went from finalist to missing the cut in ’11.

Jamaal Wilkes made it to Springfield, Mass., some 26 years after he retired. Ralph Sampson, elected largely on the strength of a dominating college career at Virginia, last played in 1992.

Hank Nichols, a long-time college and international referee, also made it via the North American Committee.

Maurice Cheeks, Bill Fitch, Bernard King, Dick Motta and Rick Pitino fell short of the required 18 votes from a secret panel of 24 voters comprised of members of the media, NBA and college game.

Katrina McClain, a former star at Georgia and two-time Olympic gold medalist, and the All American Red Heads, a barnstorming team from 1936 to 1986, were elected by the Women’s Committee.

With a margin of error in the poll of 4.4 percentage points, Dudley might want to hold off on any premature celebrating. But he won’t have to go far in search of advice if he does convince enough people to “Join Oregon’s Comeback.”

We usually try to steer clear of anything other than hideout politics around here, but we’re officially on the bandwagon with any former NBA players rocking the vote on Election Day across the country — that would be Tuesday folks, so get out and vote! Dudley is fighting long odds.

A win would be historic for a couple of reasons, as he’d also be the first former NBA player elected governor. No Republican has been elected Oregon’s governor since 1982. A Yale graduate, Dudley’s long been a champion for diabetes research and now he’d be a political pioneer, of sorts (the trail was first blazed by former Knicks great Bill Bradley, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, served three terms as a Democratic senator from New Jersey).

Among the contributors to Dudley’s campaign are N.B.A. Commissioner David Stern; the founder of Nike, Phil Knight; the coaches P. J. Carlesimo and Rick Carlisle; and his former Blazers teammates Clyde Drexler and Terry Porter.

“The voters of this state don’t get too excited about Republican governors, I can tell you that right now,” said Porter, who is a member of the campaign’s finance committee. “But he’s going to put in the tireless effort that he’s always been known for on the basketball court.”

We haven’t forgotten that TNT’s very own Charles Barkley has talked for years about running for governor of his home state of Alabama. Sounds good to us. Too bad he won’t be the first.